Currently, financial transactions are consummated by a physical means, such as currency, credit or debit cards, checks, and the like. The card-based transactions can be handled by an automated clearinghouse (ACH) processor such as First Data. For example, a customer pays with a credit card or debit card for a purchase. The card data, merchant data, and available funds are all verified and a confirmation is provided to consummate the transaction.
However, there are numerous drawbacks to the conventional process, including card and identity theft, inconvenience, equipment availability, reliability and security, and high backend costs of clearinghouses and card companies. Consumers also have the burden of remembering a PIN number for debit cards.
What is needed is a robust technique to make payments and financial transactions without a physical card (and without a password), while overcoming the deficiencies of the prior art.